Preparations for war
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Preparations for war
Under Hitler, Nazi Germany built up its armed forces, in clear violation of the Versailles Treaty. Hitler claimed that Germany had the right to expand to the east. In 1936, Hitler moved troops into the Rhineland, near the border of France and Belgium. His action again violated the terms of the Versailles Treaty. France and Britain protested, but they took no action. In 1938, Hitler annexed Austria, yet again violating the 1919 treaty. Later that year, he claimed the Sudetenland, the western part of Czechoslovakia. Britain and France had signed treaties to protect Czechoslovakia. Hitler invited the leaders of Britain and France to meet with him in Munich, Germany, in September 1938. At the Munich Conference, Hitler assured the European leaders that he wanted no more territory for Germany. Britain and France gave in to German claims in the Sudetenland. They hoped that the agreement would preserve peace in Europe (appeasement). Despite his promise not to occupy more territory. Hitler's troops inveded the rest of Czechoslovakia the following year.
